Crop baling machines typically utilize a moving elongated elastomeric belt to manipulate the crop in one or more ways. In the context of a round hay baler, one or more such elastomeric belts pass over and under a series of drive, idler, and tensioner rollers in a serpentine like arrangement. The belts function to take and form an incoming row of crop into a spiral roll of increasing diameter.
One problem with baler belts is that they typically are made of fabric that is spliced together. The splices can be a source of structural weakness in the belt. For instance, belt wear during service life frequently results in failure at the splice. This inherent problem associated with belts having spliced fabric reinforcements can be eliminated by utilizing a belt design that includes fabric reinforcements which are not spliced together as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,590,697.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,619 describes a coated abrasive belt with an endless seamless backing. This belt includes a coated abrasive backing which consists of an endless, seamless, loop. The backing loop includes about 40% to 99% by weight of an organic polymeric binder, based upon the weight of the backing; and an effective amount of a fibrous reinforcing material engulfed within the organic polymeric binder material. The endless, seamless backing loop includes a length with parallel side edges, and at least one layer of fibrous reinforcing material engulfed within the organic polymeric binder material such that there are regions of organic binder material free of fibrous reinforcing material on opposite surfaces of the layer of fibrous reinforcing material. The fibrous reinforcing material can be in the form of individual fibrous strands, a fibrous mat structure, or a combination of thereof. A method for preparing the endless, seamless backing loop for a coated abrasive belt is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,619. This method includes the steps of preparing a loop of liquid binder material having fibrous reinforcing material therein around the periphery of a drum; and solidifying the binder material such that an endless, seamless, backing loop having fibrous reinforcing material engulfed within the organic polymeric binder material is formed.
United States Patent Publication No. 2008/0125263 describes a spliceless baler belt which is an elastomeric belt comprised of one or more reinforcement layers, and one or more elastomeric layers, wherein at least one of the reinforcement layers is formed of strips that are spirally wound forming a helix. This belt design overcomes the problem associated with belt failure at splice points. However, the belts described in United States Patent Publication No. 2008/0125263 are somewhat lacking in other areas of durability, such as puncture resistance, which is important in agricultural applications. Accordingly, there is still currently a need for an endless, spliceless belt having improved durability including puncture resistance.